When it came to controlling lightning, Enel didn't believe he was inferior to Kojin.
In fact, he'd always had a strange feeling, as if the real Goro Goro no Mi was supposed to belong to him from the start, not the artificial copy Vegapunk had created.
The replicated Devil Fruit Enel had eaten could only reproduce about half the power of the original. According to Vegapunk, it was considered a failed experiment.
Even so, a failure like that was still incredibly powerful; it simply lacked a few abilities the genuine Goro Goro no Mi possessed. For example, it couldn't grant the elemental transformation normally associated with a Logia.
Rather than calling it an artificial Goro Goro no Mi, it would probably be more accurate to call it a Discharge Fruit.
Kojin had no idea what Enel was thinking; his attention was focused entirely on the five Pacifistas before him.
Judging by their codenames alone, it was obvious Vegapunk held quite a grudge against the Five Elders. Maybe that resentment came from having been thrown into Impel Down.
After all, Kojin's disappearance had also stalled the progress of Vegapunk's research. Before that, Kojin had often discussed various projects with Vegapunk, and since Kojin knew so much about future developments, many of those conversations had given the scientist valuable inspiration.
"How strong are they?" Kojin asked.
"According to Vegapunk, a single Pacifista should be capable of defeating pirates with bounties over 400 million berries," Enel explained. "They have tremendous physical strength, can use some Rokushiki techniques as well as swordsmanship, and their eyes can fire high-powered electrical attacks with considerable destructive force."
"I see…" Kojin fell into thought.
Comparable to a pirate with a 400 million berry bounty, that wasn't too different from the Pacifistas in the original timeline. The only major difference was that instead of looking like Kuma, these had been modeled after Golden Lion Shiki, which made them considerably more intimidating.
Speaking of Kuma, he stood nearby, carefully studying the five machines with a grave expression. He knew the project the World Government wanted his cooperation on was related to cybernetic humans like these. Did that mean… if he kept cooperating with them, he would eventually become something like this?
Just thinking about it made Kuma's skin crawl.
"Can I test their strength?" Kuma suddenly asked.
"Of course." Kojin was slightly surprised, but nodded. Enel had explained their power, but Kojin hadn't actually seen how they fought yet. He was curious too.
"Number One!" Enel called out.
Pacifista Number One immediately stepped forward, its heavy body making the ground tremble with every stride. Looking closely, a large "1" was engraved near the ship's wheel embedded in its head, while the word "Venus" was marked on the left side of its forehead.
"Attack him," Enel ordered, pointing at Kuma.
Number One moved instantly. Two swords flashed from its waist, and a small cloud of dust kicked up as the Pacifista vanished. When it reappeared above Kuma's head, both blades were already slashing down viciously.
Kuma's eyes narrowed. He raised a single hand.
'Clang!'
The blades struck his palm with a metallic ring, the force of the slashes instantly absorbed by Kuma's paw pad.
At that exact moment, blue arcs of electricity flashed inside Number One's eyes, rapidly gathering into a brilliant beam.
'Zzt!'
The electrical blast shot straight toward Kuma at point-blank range. Kuma's pupils contracted, and his paw rose again to block.
'Crackle!'
The lightning struck his palm and was absorbed without causing a scratch. Then Kuma stepped forward. His massive body moved with surprising speed as he swung his palm.
'Bang!'
A dull impact echoed through the area. His paw struck Number One directly across the face, sending the Pacifista flying to crash into the ground some distance away. When it climbed back to its feet, electricity flickered wildly across its frame, as though its internal circuits were damaged.
The sight instantly enraged Enel.
"You bastard! How dare you hit Number One like that!"
Blue lightning exploded from Enel's body. He vanished instantly, reappearing directly in front of Kuma as if teleporting.
"Discharge! Ten Million Volts!"
Enel spread his fingers and aimed straight for Kuma's face, unleashing a brilliant pillar of lightning.
Kuma froze for a fraction of a second, his surprise growing as he saw the thunderbolt rushing toward him. 'The Goro Goro no Mi?'
Even in his shock, Kuma reacted instantly. He raised his paw toward the lightning, repelling and absorbing it in a flash. Then he stepped forward, his body disappearing.
By the time Enel caught sight of him again, Kuma was already looming above, his paw less than ten centimeters from Enel's face.
'This guy… is fast!'
Enel's pupils shrank. A faint red light flashed in his eyes as lightning crackled across his skin.
'Whoosh!'
Kuma's palm swept through empty air, hitting nothing but Enel's afterimage. When Kuma spotted Enel standing ten meters away, his eyes narrowed slightly.
'Observation Haki?'
This long-eared guy in baggy pants was stronger than he looked. And the power he was using… was that really the Goro Goro no Mi?
"That's enough," Kojin's voice suddenly cut in.
Enel had been preparing to attack again, but he stopped and turned toward him.
"The lab's Artificial Devil Fruit technology…" Kojin's voice lowered. "Has it already advanced far enough to reproduce Logia abilities?"
The implication behind that question made Kuma's body stiffen. 'Artificial Devil Fruits?!'
Kuma was stunned. Kojin actually had access to a laboratory advanced enough to create artificial Devil Fruits?
That meant the lightning ability used by this long-eared man came from a manufactured fruit?
The realization shook Kuma to his core. Devil Fruits could actually be mass-produced now?
"Of course not!" Enel immediately answered. "We can already synthesize Zoan and Paramecia fruits, but Logias are completely different. The artificial Goro Goro no Mi I ate is nothing more than a failed product. It has a fatal flaw!"
Frustration leaked from Enel's voice. He still couldn't shake the feeling that Kojin had eaten the fruit that should have belonged to him, yet at the same time, the power Enel currently possessed was only possible because of Kojin.
"A failed product?" Kojin frowned.
Then he suddenly stepped forward.
'Crackle!'
Lightning flashed through the air with unbelievable speed. In an instant, Kojin appeared directly in front of Enel, his right hand already resting on Enel's head before anyone even realized he'd moved.
'So fast! Is this the true speed of lightning?!'
Both Enel and Kuma were thoroughly shocked.
"I see." Kojin already understood the weakness of the artificial Goro Goro no Mi. It had completely lost the defining intangible traits of a Logia, and the output of its lightning abilities was significantly reduced. At this point, it functioned more like a Paramecia.
Meanwhile, Pacifista Number One had managed to push itself back up.
"Who has the highest authority over them?" Kojin asked.
"You do," Enel replied. "I'm second."
He paused before adding, "Of course, those permissions can be reconfigured, but only you have the authority to change them."
"Good." Kojin smiled casually. "From now on, Kuina will have second-level authority. You'll be moved down to third. Kuina will also become the commanding officer of the Research Force. All of you are under her command from here on out."
"Huh?" Enel's eyes widened.
'What the hell? How did I just get demoted to third-level authority?'
'And who the hell is Kuina?'
He got his answer soon enough.
A young Marine Vice Admiral approached, a sword hanging at her waist. She carried herself with absolute confidence and possessed an unusually sharp presence.
What impressed Enel most, however, were her eyes, piercing, almost unsettlingly so. With just a single glance, Enel had the strange feeling she could see straight through him.
'This woman is no ordinary Marine,' the thought surfaced instinctively.
"Sensei," Kuina approached and bowed slightly.
"Starting today, you'll be responsible for managing the Research Force," Kojin said with a smile.
"Understood." Kuina accepted the assignment calmly, showing neither hesitation nor boastful excitement.
"There's one more thing." Kojin's smile widened. "Eveya brought your swords with her."
"My swords?" Kuina froze, excitement instantly breaking across her face.
"After Golden Lion Shiki died, his two swords were left behind in the West Blue. One is named Oto, and the other Kogarashi, both exceptional Meito," Kojin explained, raising a hand.
The two swords resting on a nearby rack immediately flew through the air, coming to a hover right in front of Kuina.
Kuma's eyes narrowed at the sight. The Goro Goro no Mi didn't possess any telepathic ability to pull objects through the air like that, which meant Kojin possessed a second Devil Fruit power... perhaps even a third.
"But Sensei…" Kuina hesitated. "I'm a Ittoryu swordsman. Two swords would be…"
"If you ever meet a skilled enough swordsmith, you can just have them re-forged into a single blade," Kojin suggested with a smile.
"Forge them into one?" Kuina's eyes lit up.
That might actually work, as far as she knew, her grandfather was a master swordsmith.
"Then I won't refuse!"
No swordsman could easily turn down a pair of famed blades. The moment she took Oto and Kogarashi and drew them slightly from their sheaths, an overwhelming, razor-sharp pressure filled the air. There was a fierce, domineering quality to both weapons.
"What incredible swords…" Kuina couldn't help murmuring.
"Their former owner was Golden Lion Shiki," Kojin laughed, "a legendary pirate who once shook the entire world."
"Golden Lion Shiki?" Kuina looked down at the blades in her hands. "Where is he now?"
"Dead," Kojin grinned. "Your Sensei killed him. And those five Pacifistas standing in front of you were built using him as the model."
"Huh?" Kuina stared blankly at him. A legendary pirate had died at her master's hands, and now both of his famed blades were in her possession.
"Treasure those swords," Kojin's voice turned resolute. "Use them to carve out your path as the world's greatest female swordsman!"
"Yes!" Kuina drew a deep breath and answered firmly. She might be a woman, but she had zero intention of losing to anyone.
...
At the exact same time, urgent knocking suddenly rattled the door of the Fleet Admiral's office.
Sengoku looked up, a bad feeling rising in his chest. "Come in!"
The door burst open, and a Marine officer rushed inside, breathing heavily. His face was pale with panic as he blurted out his report:
"Fleet Admiral! Something terrible has happened!"
"Monkey D. Luffy of the Eleven Supernovas…"
"Straw Hat Luffy…"
"He just punched a Celestial Dragon!"
Sengoku froze. A second later, his expression changed drastically as he slammed his hands on his desk and shot to his feet.
"What did you say?!"
(End of Chapter)
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